Chidambaram Natarajar Temple Stories

Once upon a time the saints (rishis) living in the forest known as ‘Tharukavanam’ had mastered all the ‘Vedas’, ‘Agamas’ and ‘Shastras’.

They could even raise powerful creatures from the sacrificial fires to do their bidding. They became very arrogant and believed in the supremacy of magic and that God can be controlled by rituals and ‘mantras’ or magical words.

Lord Shiva wished to show these rishis their limitations and appeared as a handsome man selling medicines (mendicant) with Lord Vishnu as his wife in the name of ‘Mohini’. They looked very beautiful and handsome. Every saint and their wives looked at the couple and got attracted .This created chaos in ‘Tharukavanam’ as the wives of the rishis fell under the spell of this charming, handsome mendicant while the youthful rishis fell for the beauty of Mohini.

Tiger from Sacrificial Fire (Homam):

The older rishis became very angry and wanted to destroy the pair. They raised a sacrificial fire (‘Homam’) from which appeared a tiger which was directed at the pair. Lord Shiva killed the tiger, peeled off its skin and tied it around his waist. Then the rishis produced a poisonous serpent, which Lord Shiva caught and wore around his neck.

The rishis also sent a demon called ‘Muyalakan’ against Lord Shiva whom he crushed under his feet. Then the rishis sent the sacrificial fire against him which he put on his left hand. The rishis having lost the fire sent the powerful Vedic ‘mantras’ which the Lord wore around his ankles.

At this the rishis conceded defeat and the Lord revealed himself by dancing the cosmic dance called ‘Oorthava thandavam’ with his matted hair unfurling in all eight directions and the world reverberating to his steps. Then the rishis surrendered, realizing that this Lord is the truth and He is beyond magic and rituals.

The saints achieved liberation, and on their special request Lord Shiva promised to perform His Dance for all time at that place. This story is narrated in the Chidambara Mahatmyam, The Sacred History of Chidambaram, which is part of the Skanda Purana, one of the 18 great Puranas or collections of Hindu mythology.

Lord Vishnu and Adhisheshan:

Lord Vishnu described this incident to Adishesa, the serpent on which Lord Vishnu reposes. Adishesha wished to see this dance and taking leave of Lord Vishnu went and prayed to Lord Shiva to grant him the honor of witnessing his dance.

Lord Shiva advised Adhishesha to go to Vyagrapuram where he would one day perform this dance. Adishesha was then born on this land and was given the name Pathanjali. Pathanjali approached saint Vyagrapadar and told him of his quest.

As Vyagrapadar himself was eager to see the Lord’s dance he was delighted to receive Pathanjali and accompanied him to the temple of Lord Shiva and prayed for the Lord’s appearance. On an auspicious day the celestial beings arrived at Thillai along with other Rishis, and sages and assembled at the temple. The heavenly musicians too arrived.

Then Lord Shiva appeared with one of His right hands beating the drums and the other hand bestowing grace. With His left hand holding the fire and the other pointing to his right leg trampling Muyalakan under the foot, He appeared with His left leg raised in a dancing pose known as Lord Natarajar.

The story of saint ‘Vyagrapadar’:-

Once upon a time there lived a saint called Rishi Madyandinar with his son. He, under the direction of his father, came to the forest of Chidambaram, which was called as Thillai those days and worshipped the ‘Shiva Lingam’, which had appeared there.

He normally gets up early before daybreak to collect flowers and perform his Pooja. Sometimes he could not collect the flowers in the early morning as it was dark and cloudy and he could not see the flowers. After daybreak when he goes to collect the flowers gets polluted by the bees. He was grief stricken and prayed to Lord Shiva about this problem.

Lord Shiva took pity on him and gave him the eyes and limbs of a tiger so that he could see in the dark and climb trees easily to collect the flowers. Then after he was called as ‘Vyagrapadar’ and the forest where he lived was named as ‘Vyagrapuram’ or ‘Puliyoor’.

The story of the Dance competition:-

Goddess Kali was the guardian of the forest in Thillai. She refused to allow Lord Shiva to dance in Her domain. Lord Shiva therefore challenged Her to a dance competition on condition that if He won then She would go out of from that area. The competition began.

Great saint Naradha played the veena, Nandikeswara played the drums and other celestial musicians accompanied with their instruments. Lord Shiva danced with his hair flung in all directions. Lord Shiva danced with the ‘vedas’ as his anklets, the serpent as his waist band, the tiger skin as his attire with Ganga and the crescent moon on his crest. He performed the cosmic dance called ‘Ananda thandavam’.

At one stage Lord Shiva took a pose with His left foot raised above His head. But being lady modesty prevented Goddess Kali to lift her legs similarly matching the same pose. Thus She lost the competition and took residence in the northern end of Chidambaram in the Thillaiamman temple.

Every devotee who comes to Chidambaram after worshipping at the Natarajar temple visits this temple too. Pathanjali and Vyagrapadar prayed to Lord Shiva to remain at Thillai as the eternally dancing god ‘Lord Natarajar’ so that all the earthly beings could witness his dance and receive his grace and blessing.